


Enchanting

by meanderingmirth



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe, Multi, hp!au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-29
Updated: 2015-06-14
Packaged: 2018-03-26 07:36:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3842482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meanderingmirth/pseuds/meanderingmirth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wonshik meets Taekwoon’s cousin at the wedding and is promptly smitten. HP!AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> "Write an AU about a setting you're confident in" I've been far too absorbed in the Harry Potter series since I was in third grade, so that's gotta count for something, right? (•̀⌄•́)
> 
> posted on [tumblr](http://starcrossedsaints.tumblr.com/post/117665408478/enchanting-1-4/) too!

“You know, if I’d known a wedding was this much hassle, I would’ve never agreed to be a best man,” Wonshik calls across the yard, feeling sweat roll down his temples as he stood under the blazing mid-morning sun, waving his wand in lazy circular motions in an attempt to help raise the sparkling gold marquee— keyword being  _try_. His wandwork is so sloppy that it’s making his side of the tent droop, dragging Hakyeon’s side down as well. Ignoring his friend’s yells for him to focus, Wonshik tries valiantly to not think about what the others might be getting up to in Sanghyuk’s parents’ nice, air-conditioned cottage. Probably binging themselves on the lemonade while getting their hair done, no doubt.

“Sanghyuk would’ve been devastated,” Jaehwan chortles from where he’s parked himself rather smartly under the shade of the sprawling oak tree, easily raising his side of the marquee with a flick of his wand. Wonshik can see the little flags waving lazily in the faint wind as the tent slowly shaped up, flashing different colours. “You’re his muggle bro. And if you said no, then he would’ve started fake crying to Taekwoon, and Taekwoon would’ve gone after you, and we’d be holding your funeral instead of their wedding right now.”

“Right,” Wonshik snorts. “I do value my life.”

“Plus, Taekwoon still hasn’t forgiven you for the time you accidentally lit the tail of his broom on fire, so I’d lay low if I were you.”

“Holy crap, Jaehwan, that happened  _years_ ago. When we were still in  _school_.”

Jaehwan shrugs, grinning. “He never forgave, and he never forgot.”

Wonshik let out a muggle curse under his breath, slapping a hand over his face in exasperation. The motion interrupted his wandwork yet again, and his side of the marquee collapsed instantly, heavy cloth sweeping over a whole row of neatly lined chairs as it went down.

“Merlin’s pants, Wonshik, you’re impossible!” Hakyeon shrieks, stomping over to push Wonshik aside. He whines.

“It’s not my fault it’s so hot today; I feel like I’m  _baking_  in this suit!”

“And it’s not even noon yet,” Jaehwan adds helpfully, glancing up at the sun, which shone brightly down at them between a few fair wisps of cloud scattered over a light blue sky. Even the weather was celebrating with them.

“There,” Hakyeon says, sending the marquee upright with a firm flick of his wrist. Another flourish, and the overturned chairs were upright again. Hakyeon let out a satisfied puff of air and turned to Wonshik with a judging look. Wonshik resented that. Charms had always been Hakyeon’s strong point and his worst subject.

“C’mon, let’s go back inside before you get a sunstroke or something.”

“No kidding,” Wonshik groans, fighting the urge to undo another button on the front of his suit. He had no idea how Hakyeon or Jaehwan could stand wearing thick, heavy dress robes, but he himself had no desire to slip into one of those. If Sanghyuk could don a muggle suit, then so could he. One of the perks of having a muggle-slash-wizard wedding, Wonshik supposes.

The burst of cold air was like a breath of life when the three of them stumbled back into the cottage, toeing off polished shoes at the doorway and doing their best not to step on the tiny house elves scrambling around with gift boxes piled up over their heads. Hakyeon was immediately accosted by one of Taekwoon’s older sisters when they walked into the kitchen, presumably dragged away to deal with one of the old-fashioned relatives. This left Jaehwan and Wonshik to flatten themselves agains the wall, watching everybody else rush around whilst trying to sneak a few dancing gumdrops from the bowl on the counter without anybody noticing. A bunch of Taekwoon’s cousins were flitting about in pretty white-gold dresses, giggling at Jaehwan as they hurried past him into the hallway. Then, Sanghyuk appeared around the corner, squeezed between the girls with a hasty “excuse me” and proceeded to force his way between Wonshik and the counter, hair tousled and waistcoat rumpled like he’d been wrestling with a hippogriff. 

“Fancy seeing you here,” Wonshik says, offering Sanghyuk a gumdrop. “Aren’t you supposed get your pedicure done right now?”

“Ha ha,” Sanghyuk deadpans, snatching the candy out of Wonshik’s hands. “I’ve finally managed to get Taekwoon’s aunt to leave my hair alone. She keeps on asking me if there’s something wrong with it even after I explained what hair dye is. I was really tempted to say it’s a muggle thing that purebloods won’t understand.”

Jaehwan snorts, reaching over to chop at the back of Sanghyuk’s neck. “You’re gonna set yourself up for some really fun time with the in-laws if you keep mouthing off to them like that.”

Sanghyuk pouts, combing his fingers through his light brown strands. “But Taekwoon promised we’d only have to see them every other Christmas.”

“Don’t tell me you forgot Howlers exist,” Jaehwan says with mock sternness. “Especially after spending a month pranking each other during breakfast with those.”

“I don’t think my ears work quite right anymore because of that,” Wonshik complains, recalling the less than peaceful mornings in his fourth year when that had been a trend, and Jaehwan laughs.

“What’re you made of, pygmy puff fluff?” he teases, and Wonshik flips him off in turn, not particularly caring if anybody saw. Taekwoon’s family is one of those pureblood families that still thinks they’re living in a 19th century wizarding world and is probably not prone to figuring out rude muggle hand gestures anytime soon.

“Jaehwan!” Sanghyuk’s older sister bustles over, dress hiked up to her knees in an attempt to keep it out of her way as she walked. A few elderly aunts made a scandalized noise, which she promptly tunes out as she grabs Jaehwan’s arm in a no-nonsense fashion. Definitely a Han family trait. “I’ve been looking all over for you, we need you to take your photo with Taekwoon now.”

“Right-o,” Jaehwan grins, fiddling with his collar. “How long has Taekwoon been standing in front of the photographer now?”

“About an hour,” Sanghyuk’s sister says, and Jaehwan’s grin widens.

“Oooh, he’ll be wearing the ‘ate-ten-acid-pops-in-one-sitting’ expression by now. I can’t wait to get my photo taken with him!”

“Try not to get yourself hexed three hours before my wedding starts,” Sanghyuk calls, snickering when Jaehwan gives him a thumbs up. Wonshik shakes his head and turns his attention back to the refreshments again.

“Holy shit, are those your mother’s butter pecan tarts?”

“Are they?” Sanghyuk asks eagerly, attention caught, and the two of them hastily picked up the entire plate before retreating to the empty living room next door. As much as Wonshik adored wizarding sweets, there was something wonderfully nostalgic about homemade muggle treats. It reminded him of all the summers he’d spend hanging out with Sanghyuk in this very cottage when they were still students, relishing in the simplicity of the muggle world as they swam all day in the nearby lake and scraped up their palms and knees running around in the forest. The cottage was Sanghyuk’s favourite place in the world, and despite his bitching about the summer heat, Wonshik was very glad Taekwoon insisted that the wedding was held at Sanghyuk’s childhood home instead of some stuffy old cathedral his relatives had tried to suggest.

“These are so good,” Sanghyuk groans, shovelling a third tart into his mouth. “I haven’t had them since I visited my parents in the fall.”

“You better enjoy your mom’s cooking when you’re still a momma’s boy,” Wonshik grins, quickly dodging Sanghyuk’s cuff at his head. “Though I don’t think you’ll starve with Taekwoon’s cooking; I’m more afraid for his health when you’re the one who has to make dinner.”

“Real funny,” Sanghyuk snorts, sticking his tongue out at Wonshik, but he grows a bit solemn then, staring down at the plate of tarts in his hands. “I’m really getting married, aren’t I?” he says softly, a note of disbelieving awe in his voice. “I’m really marrying Taekwoon. This isn’t a dream, is it?”

Wonshik blinks, watching Sanghyuk wiggle his socked toes and chew his lip, nervous. Well, that wouldn’t do. He reached out to clap a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Hey,” Wonshik says, light and reassuring. “This ain’t a dream, man. You’re gonna go out there, strut your way down the aisle in a manner that’ll make Hakyeon proud, and you’re gonna get married and you’re gonna enjoy every second of that married life, okay?”

Sanghyuk looks up, a wobbly grin on his face, and Wonshik has to swallow hard as his friend puts the plate down and yanks Wonshik into a tight hug, mumbling, “Thanks for being here, man. I really appreciate it.”

“Hey, I’m always here for a bro,” Wonshik replies, rubbing Sanghyuk’s back before they move apart. “Besides, I can’t have Taekwoon steal my best muggle pal from me.”

Sanghyuk laughs. “Looks like Jaehwan and I are gonna have to work extra hard on finding you a proper date then.”

“Oh no,” Wonshik growls, pinching Sanghyuk’s arm. “Don’t even think about starting your stupid matchmaking nonsense again.”

“But I don’t want you to be alone,” Sanghyuk whines, failing to disguise the snicker behind his words. Wonshik rolls his eyes.

“Might I remind you how you tried to set me up with a vampire last time?”

“Well, if you did manage to get together, the love bite puns would’ve been an endless source of entertainment,” Sanghyuk replies, wiggling his eyebrows, and Wonshik was just about to jinx Sanghyuk’s socks into biting his toes off when Taekwoon strolls into the room, jet black dress robes billowing out behind him as he walked. His hair was styled up and his stark white collar should’ve made him look like that pasty bloodsucker Sanghyuk and Jaehwan tried to set Wonshik up with, but like everything else Taekwoon slapped on, he manages to look stunning.

“Sanghyuk, we’ve got to take the family portraits now,” Taekwoon says, coming to a halt before Wonshik and a rather starstruck Sanghyuk. Then, like an afterthought, he adds softly, “Your hair looks good.”

“Help me convince your aunt then,” Sanghyuk laughs breathlessly, taking Taekwoon’s hand. “Is this the last set of photos?”

“Yes,” Taekwoon nods, looking infinitely relieved, and Sanghyuk grins.

“Alright, then let’s go get it over with.”

“Mm,” Taekwoon says, side-eyeing the plate of tarts, but then he turns to Wonshik and says, “Can I ask a favour of you, Wonshik?”

“Sure, what’s up?” Wonshik asks, surprised.

“Would you mind keeping one of my cousins company until I’ve finished taking photos and doing some of the wizarding wedding customs? He’s my other groomsman but he doesn’t really know any of the family members here because he’s only vaguely related to me, and I didn’t want him to wait alone while I’m busy.”

“Sure,” Wonshik replies. “Uh, how will I know it’s him?”

“I asked Sanghyuk to... what’s the word, taxt?”

“Text,” Sanghyuk supplied helpfully, grinning, and Taekwoon puffs his cheeks out. “Yes, text. I asked Sanghyuk to text him a photo of you. He’ll know who you are.”

“You texted him?” Wonshik stares, looking at Sanghyuk. “Is he a muggle?” That would probably explain the ‘vaguely related’ part.

But Taekwoon shakes his head, trying to subtly sneak a tart or five into his pockets as he talked. “No, he just happens to live in a muggle city and work a muggle job. He’s coming around in about fifteen minutes or so.”

“Uh, sure, I’ll keep him company,” Wonshik says, utterly bemused as Sanghyuk slaps Taekwoons’ hands away from the tarts, saying, “Just take the whole damn plate, you goof.”

Taekwoon does so with great satisfaction before nodding at Wonshik. “Thank you, Wonshik.”

“Play nice!” Sanghyuk calls, and Wonshik rolls his eyes. It wasn’t like he was going to start a fight on his friends’ wedding day.

When the two disappeared into the drawing room upstairs to do whatever weird wizarding ritual Taekwoon’s surprisingly superstitious relatives were planning, Wonshik hovered awkwardly in the kitchen until Taekwoon’s other sister shooed him out for taking up space. Then he hovered awkwardly amongst Taekwoon’s other pureblood cousins in the dining room until he’s ambushed by a harassed-looking Hakyeon, who’s holding his baby nephew in one arm and has a large cardboard box tucked under the other.

“Wonshik, perfect timing, can you hang on to this for me?” Hakeyon asks, not waiting for an answer before he shoves the box into Wonshik’s arms. “Whatever you do,  _don’t drop it_ , those things go off way too easily.”

Eyes widening, Wonshik glances down at the label stuck on the side of the box, which reads  _Dr. Filibuster’s Flamboyantly Flashly Celebration Cracklers_. Packed into the box are approximately a dozen colourfully wrapped fireworks about the size of his fist. They all seemed to vibrate very slightly.

“Why do we even have these?” Wonshik asks. Hakyeon shrugs and hoists his nephew higher in his arms.

“Dunno, somebody ordered them. They’re planning to set it off once Taekwoon and Sanghyuk tie the knot, so bring them out to the marquee and leave it with Sanghyuk’s dad.”

“Right,” Wonshik mutters as Hakyeon sprints off, using  _accio_  to summon a baby diaper as he went, and tries not to think about all the damage those little fire crackers could probably wreck inside Sanghyuk’s crowded cottage. It’d probably be safer for everybody if he deposited those outside right now.

Wonshik turned on his heel, carefully side-stepping a mountain of presents piled next to and on top of the sofa, and had barely set foot into the foyer when he almost runs headlong into somebody walking through the front door.

“Careful!” he yelps, moving the box back. Thankfully, nothing went off despite the jostling, and the person he’d run into quickly moves to give him space, letting out a light, “whoops!”. Then they paused, and to Wonshik’s surprise the asked tentatively, “Ah... you wouldn’t happen to be Kim Wonshik, would you?”

Wonshik looked up, an answer on the tip of his tongue, and then he caught sight of the guy standing before him and every last thought he had evaporated from his mind in an instant. The newcomer was waiting for Wonshik’s reaction with an expectant gaze, two dimples dipping into his smooth, flawless cheeks as he smiled. His dark hair was swept away from his face in such an effortlessly attractive manner that made Wonshik wonder if the guy had just stepped out of a photoshoot— the light blue dress shirt, pressed slacks and fitted waistcoat only seemed to confirm that very suspicion. When the silence dragged on and Wonshik failed to form any kind of coherent reply in his throat, the guy shuffled a little in embarrassment. “Um, hi, I’m Lee Hongbin, Taekwoon’s cousin. I don’t know if he mentioned that I was coming...?”

“O-oh,” Wonshik croaked, feeling strangely breathless. “H-he did, yeah.”

There was something about Hongbin that just seemed to draw his gaze and hold it; was it his eyes, that seemed to glitter in the afternoon sun? Or was it his tall, broad-shouldered figure, lean and fit? Or was it the faint, silverly glow that seemed to hang about him?

Dimly, in the back of his mind, something told Wonshik that there was no way in hell Taekwoon could have a glowing cousin, but that train of thought derailed again when Hongbin’s expression lit up. “Oh, thank goodness, I was worried he’d have forgotten, it’s a busy day for him after all. Anyway, it’s really nice to meet you... may I call you Wonshik?”

And then Hongbin extended his hand for a handshake, and Wonshik gulped.

“N-nice to meet you too,” he started to say, and as he reached out to reciprocate the gesture, the box of fireworks he’d completely forgotten about slipped out of his grasp and sent every last firecracker tumbling to the floor by their feet.

Hakyeon hadn’t been joking when he said those things went off way too easily.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, this took a while to update ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ 
> 
> thanks for reading!

About half an hour into the wedding ceremony, Wonshik was  _really_  starting to regret his role as best man if it meant he had to stand facing the front with a smile on his face and listen to Jaehwan try, and fail, to stifle his laughter behind him.

“I swear, Jaehwan, I will not hesitate to set your robes on fire in front of sixty wizards and witches,” Wonshik mutters through gritted teeth, turning his head ever so slightly to glance behind him. Jaehwan snorts through his nose as the minister drones on and on at the alter, crooked nose buried into a gigantic leather-bound book. On the other side, Hakyeon shot the two of them a warning glare over Taekwoon’s shoulder.

“I’m so sorry,” Jaehwan chokes back, not sounding sorry at all. “It’s just, oh, Merlin’s pants, you  _still_  smell like fire powder.”

“I know what I smell like,” Wonshik hisses back, doing his best not to touch his singed hair. Hakyeon had done his best to charm the straggly mess back in shape and Taekwoon had even done a tricky bit of magic to temporarily change Wonshik’s hair black. Now the scorch marks were a lot less noticeable, but as Jaehwan continues to point out, the burnt smell lingers on.

He makes the mistake of glancing towards Taekwoon’s side of the alter, where Hakyeon is quickly turning into the misty-eyed best man everybody knew he’d become, and Hongbin is standing with his hands clasped in front of him, standing behind Hakyeon as Taekwoon’s other groomsman. Even though Wonshik had basically ruined Hongbin’s waistcoat when he accidentally set off all twelve firecrackers in the foyer of Sanghyuk’s cottage, they’d managed to hide the charred bottom half by doing up an extra button on Hongbin’s jacket. The universe must also really hate Wonshik, because while his own burnt hair came out a barely salvageable mess, Hongbin’s windswept hair now only sported a few extra curls in the front. If anything, it made him look even more handsome; boyishly attractive and sweet, the perfect image for the summer wedding.

Then Hongbin glanced over, catching Wonshik’s eye, and the other man gave him a little grin. The dimples made their guest appearance again and Wonshik could actually feel his knees go weak. There was no way somebody could look that good. Normal wizards don’t make his legs feel like somebody put a well-aimed Jelly-Legs Jinx on him. Normal wizards also didn’t glow. It had to be the sun. It was definitely the sun.

A sharp prod to his side brought Wonshik crashing back to reality and he almost turned around to snap at Jaehwan.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Jaehwan replied, voice shaking with suppressed laughter. “Your mouth was just hanging open while you were staring, that’s all.”

“I swear  _to god_ , Lee Jaehwan, I am going to—”

Sanghyuk chose that precise moment to lift his leg and subtly kick backwards, successfully whacking Wonshik in the shins.

“If you’re gonna hex Jaehwan could you do it when I’m not about to kiss my husband?” Sanghyuk mutters out of the corner of his mouth, and Wonshik wants to throw his hands up in disbelief.

“He started it—”

“I  _cannot_ believe you just said that,” Jaehwan says in disbelief, voice carrying a little too much, and it catches Hongbin’s attention, who looks over with an inquisitive look. Very suddenly, Wonshik has difficulty swallowing.

“You’re so smitten,” Jaehwan whispers in awe, and Wonshik very deliberately takes a step backwards and grinds his heel into Jaehwan’s toes. The unexpected pain makes Jaehwan yelp, unable to help himself, but he manages to turn it into an emotional sob before anybody notices. Wonshik grudgingly admires Jaehwan’s improv skills as Sanghyuk gurgles on a small laugh. Hakyeon looks like he’s seconds away from abandoning his post to split them up. Seriously, what did they expect to happen when all he, Sanghyuk and Jaehwan all ended up together on one side without parental supervision?

The only person that’s blissfully unaware of their childish antics is Taekwoon, who hasn’t taken his eyes off Sanghyuk from the moment they converged at the alter. Wonshik’s thoughts drift back to Hongbin, and then he fervently wishes he could have Taekwoon’s undeterred focus when the minister finally finished all the marriage mumble jumble.

“Then I declare you bonded for life,” the old wizard wheezed, lifting his nose out of the book, and the words had barely left his mouth before Taekwoon and Sanghyuk were already moving together in perfect synchronization; Taekwoon’s hands coming up to cup Sanghyuk’s face as Sanghyuk placed his on either side of Taekwoon’s waist. Their lips met as the golden flowers decorating the arch above the alter burst into a shower of dazzling sparkles, falling over the couple’s entwined form as everybody stood and clapped boisterously. Sanghyuk’s and Taekwoon’s families were smiling and crying at the same time, and the only person who cried harder then them all was Hakyeon, his face buried into his hands. Even Wonshik felt a suspicious wetness in his eyes, and when he looked behind him Jaehwan was applauding with the widest smile he’s ever seen. The two of them made eye contact and grinned at each other, too happy for their friends to continue bickering.

Somewhere in the back, the string quartet had started up a lively tune, and the tables that had been lined up outside of the marquee started to drift serenely in, settling along the edges of the crowd. House elves wearing clean white togas bustled forwards, carrying large platters of muggle and wizarding refreshments alike, and Wonshik was sorely tempted to steal a whole platter for himself before Jaehwan was pushing him forwards for a massive group hug with the others. Wonshik found himself squashed behind Sanghyuk as his friend laughed, throwing an arm around Wonshik’s shoulders as he bounced with joy. Hakyeon all but collapsed over Taekwoon’s shoulder, sobbing out his congratulations. For once, Taekwoon didn’t seem to mind the clinginess, and patted Hakyeon comfortingly on the back with a smile. It was then Wonshik noticed Hongbin standing off on the side, beaming at them, but not making any move to join the hug. Then Wonshik remembered that none of them had actually met Hongbin before, even at the rehearsals, so aside from Taekwoon nobody really knew him at all.

Before he could stop himself, Wonshik wiggled his arm free from where it was trapped against Sanghyuk’s back and turned, holding his hand out of the group hug to Hongbin. When the other man looked up at him with confusion, Wonshik grinned and flapped his hand a little in the universal gesture for  _come over._  After only a moment’s hesitation, Hongbin stepped forwards hesitantly, a slightly awkward smile on his face. Wonshik threw an arm around Hongbin’s shoulders and pulled him right into the hug, where Taekwoon then reached over to ruffle his cousin’s hair fondly as well. Hongbin’s smile changed instantly; it was dazzling now, and while he looked a little flustered as Sanghyuk embraced his and Hakyeon found another shoulder to cry happily upon, it was a happy kind of flustered.

Surprisingly enough, while Wonshik’s stomach is still doing some crazy somersaults, the initial heart-stopping awe he’d felt had finally turned into something a little more bearable, like a few occasional stutters partnered with a ridiculous fluttering in his chest.

That’s normal, right?

+

A few hours and three-quarters of a bottle of firewhiskey later, the crazy somersaults had morphed more or less into lazy giddiness and a complete lack of inhibition as night descended down upon the guests. Dinner had been spectacular and the white four-tier cake was quite gorgeous, but the real party had started when Jaehwan managed to snag a bottle of Ogden’s and a few shot glasses from the kitchen. That mostly led to the two of them and Hakyeon sagging over one of the tables in the back of the marquee, watching other guests dance and chatter late into the night. At least, Wonshik thinks Hakyeon’s watching; or maybe their friend is just extremely drunk and very absorbed in the glowing fairy lights strung up all over the inside of the tent. The view was really quite great, especially when they could see the lights reflected on the tranquil lake nearby.

“Taekwoon has way too many relatives,” Jaehwan slurs, running a hand through his hair, making it curl and stick up in the front and back. “Seriously. Way too many. And his aunts keep on trying to chat me up, asking me where I’m working and if I’m dating.”

Wonshik snorts into his glass, trying not to spill anything down his front. “Oh boo hoo, the woes of being popular.”

“Why aren’t they hounding you?” Jaewhan whines, pouting.

“I’m only a mere muggle,” Wonshik says smugly, not at all envious of the attention Jaehwan was getting. There was no way any of Taekwoon’s pureblood aunt and uncles would be interested in him marrying one of their children, and Hakyeon managed to dodge any kind of soliciting because Taekwoon’s relatives have gotten to know him just a bit too well by now, so Jaehwan usually took the brunt of all badly hinted marriage proposals, 19th century mindset style.

Jaehwan opened his mouth to say something, probably to snub Wonshik’s under-appreciated good looks, but he snaps his mouth closed when he catches sight of something behind Wonshik and grins. Instantly on his guard, Wonshik turns to see what Jaehwan is looking at just as Hongbin appears by his shoulder and squeezes into the tiny bit of space between Wonshik and a passed-out Hakyeon at the table.

“Hide me,” he pleads, looking right at Wonshik with his beautiful wide eyes, and Wonshik barely has time to splutter out a response before Hongbin is sliding under the table faster than you could say ‘hinkypunks’. Wonshik stared down at the ruffled tablecloth, still trying to piece his brain back together in the aftermath of Hongbin’s sudden appearance. Then, a few cousins hurried by, silky dresses fluttering around them as they giggled amongst themselves, “Where did he go?”, And everything made sense.

Wonshik was aware of Jaehwan watching him over the rim of his glass, but he didn’t think much on it until the cousins were finally out of sight. Then he ducked down and said, “Um, they’re gone now.”

Honbin pops his head out from the under the table, hair ruffled, and puffed out a breath of air. “Thank you,” he said, crawling out. “The girls were being just a bit... over-enthusiastic. Oh my god, is that firewhiskey?”

“Help yourself,” Jaehwan grins, pushing the bottle and Hakyeon’s empty glass towards Hongbin, who gathers both objects gratefully and pours himself a generous amount of liquor to tip back. Wonshik tries not to stare despite being a little entranced by the bit of collarbone Hongbin’s showing under the undone buttons on the top of his shirt. He’d apparently ditched the jacket and charred waistcoat somewhere, only donning the light blue shirt now.

“Wild night, eh?” Jaehwan asks, waggling his eyebrows when Hongbin sets aside his glass and scrunches his face up as the drink goes down.

“Real wild,” Hongbin replies, laughing, and even his  _laughter_  sounds lovely and throaty and warm. “Have you guys been here all this time?”

“Yup,” Jaehwan says, knocking his fork off the table when he tries to sit up. “We’re the singles table, left here to mourn our hopelessly loveless lives while two of our friends dance the night away and leave us here to rot.”

“Perfect,” Hongbin grins. “I’ll fit right in with you guys.”

 _He’s single_ , Wonshik’s firewhiskey-hazed mind cheers at him, and he quickly pushes that thought aside as Jaehwan guffaws and says, “Seriously! Killer smile like yours, no way none of the aunts haven’t sidled up to you to ask about your favourite foods and how you feel about taking the prestigious Jung family name?”

Hongbin blushes and crinkles his hands in embarrassment. “Oh, the aunts aren’t interested in me.”

“Why not?” Wonshik blurts out before he could stop himself.

“Well... that's because I’m part Veela,” Hongbin explains.

The words takes a moment to process.

“You’re part Veela?” Wonshik repeats blankly, liquor-logged mind managing to conjure up textbook images of tall, elegant women with long hair and distinctly beautiful faces. Suddenly, all the slivery glowing business made sense.

“A quarter, to be exact,” Hongbin clarifies, blushing a little at Wonshik’s stunned expression.

“I thought most were female, even if they’re of mixed blood,” Jaehwan says, interested.

“The genes do lean towards females,” Hongbin laughs. “I have two older sisters. But sometimes, there’s a male child too.”

“Hence you,” Jaehwan says, gesturing towards Hongbin with some wiggly hand movements.

“Hence me,” Hongbin agrees, pouring himself another shot.

“You’re gonna be great pals with Wonshik then,” Jaehwan adds, grinning sneakily at Wonshik. “He’s not high on the aunties’ lists either.”

“Muggleborn?” Hongbin asks, and Wonshik nods.

“I’m definitely not Veela material,” he joked.

“Trust me, it’s not as fun as it appears,” Hongbin says solemnly, raising his glass. “A lot of purebloods are against mixed blood to begin with, but when you add in people with non-human qualities... well, you know how old-fashioned Taekwoon’s relatives are. I’m not high on their priority list.”

“I know the feeling,” Wonshik laughs, and Hongbin chuckles as he raises his glass. 

“Here’s to being single and a minority,” he says.

“Amen,” Wonshik chortles, and clinks his glass against Hongbin’s, drowning in the endless depths of those dark eyes, the woozy lull of the firewhiskey, and the ambient sounds of the wedding around him until the evening became nothing more than a mesh of vague memories and the glow of fairy lights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're halfway there! sorry for my love of Hongbin's dimples ｡^‿^ ｡


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *busts through a wall* part three!! ୧། ☉ ౪ ☉ །୨

It feels like a dream.

Or rather, it  _felt_  like a dream that was followed by a rather rude awakening once the firewhiskey settled into a pounding headache early next morning and Wonshik had woken up on the squashy bed in the guest room of Sanghyuk’s cottage. He vaguely remembered how he and Jaehwan had managed to haul a limp Hakyeon up two sets of stairs, down a hall and through a tiny doorway to collapse onto the bed. Comfy as the cottage’s furnishings had been, there was no way a doubles bed was meant to hold three grown men, so he’d packed up early that morning instead of sleeping in, ready to go home.

After greeting Sanghyuk’s parents, who were making breakfast in the kitchen, Wonshik left with a cup of coffee and a stack of waffles in hand at Mrs. Han’s insistence. He’d apparated back to his apartment once he’d left the cottage, seeing no reason to crowd the place once everybody had woken up or stay long enough to experience Jaehwan’s interrogation about his undeniable interest in Hongbin. It’s just a temporary infatuation, he told himself. Veela had that kind of effect on people, right? 

And somehow, a week later, Wonshik was still in a bit of a daze.

This did not go unnoticed by the rest of his friends.

“Did something happen at the wedding?” Hakyeon asks, eyeing Wonshik over the muggle hamburger in his hands. Wonshik startles a little, jolted out from his zoned-out stare at his soda cup.

“What? What makes you say that?”

“No reason,” Hakyeon shrugs, but there’s a suspicious glint in his eye again. The most memorable time Wonshik saw that glint was back in his first year, when Hakyeon, with his freshly-minted Gryffindor prefect badge on his chest, had busted an illegal potions ingredient exchange between several Slytherins at the back of the train. They hadn’t even arrived at school yet and Hakyeon had already brought justice upon them with an iron fist and instilled a great fear of rule-breaking into poor eleven year old Wonshik’s heart.

Point is. When Cha Hakyeon gets that glint in his eye, Wonshik would bet his broom that Hakyeon was ready to get to the bottom of things. He shivered. There was no escape.

“It was a good wedding. Taekwoon and Sanghyuk were really happy,” Wonshik said quickly, trying to push the conversation in another direction. Hakyeon sighs, looking like a proud mother.

“I'll bet. I just got an owl from Taekwoon; they’re really enjoying the weather up there.”

_Up there_  would be up in the Alps, where one of Taekwoon’s family’s many vacation houses was located. Taekwoon and Sanghyuk had caught a portkey two days after their wedding so they could spend their honeymoon in an elegant lodge built upon the picturesque mountains. Wonshik was only a little jealous; he wasn’t fond of the cold, but skiing and mountain climbing in Switzerland, even in the summertime, sounded amazing. If he had a honeymoon he could probably only afford to take his future partner for an overnight stay in the city or something.

“I hope they find Bigfoot up there or something,” Wonshik muses. “Sanghyuk would love that.”

“Big what?” Hakyeon asks, confused, and Wonshik chortles.

“Never mind, just a muggle urban legend.”

Hakyeon pouts, finishing off his hamburger and sneaking some of Wonshik’s fries. The muggle fast food restaurant was packed with teenagers from nearby high schools eating their lunches, which was why Wonshik didn’t normally go out at this time, especially to places where brats are prone to flinging food at each other. But Hakyeon had hammered on his door at a quarter past one that afternoon, woken Wonshik up from his nap and all but dragged him out to eat. Wonshik should’ve seen this coming, since Hakyeon didn’t have anybody else to eat lunch with now that Taekwoon is away from work on a holiday.

“If you keep on eating my fries I’ll leave you to suffer the food they serve in the Ministry of Magic’s cafeteria,” Wonshik warned, and Hakyeon whines.

“If I’d known being an Auror meant only getting dry corned beef sandwiches for lunch every day I would’ve become a backup dancer for the Weird Sisters instead,” Hakyeon groans, poking at the ketchup half-heartedly. “It was Taekwoon’s idea to go explore muggle restaurants during our lunch break instead, but now that he’s all happily married and eating fondue in the Swiss Alps I’m stuck eating my Joyous Meal with you.”

“It’s called  _Happy Meal_ , and what do you mean, stuck with me?” Wonshik demanded, playfully kicking Hakyeon’s shin under the table. “Today was supposed to be my day off. I was resting when you interrupted.”

“Look me in the eye and honestly tell me that you weren’t just sleeping in until one in the afternoon today,” Hakyeon retorts, dark eyes boring into Wonshik’s, and he felt guilty even though he, in fact, did not sleep in today.

“I was up at eight! I did a morning run,” Wonshik protests. “Then I fixed myself a brunch and fell asleep after showering!”

Hakyeon squints at him, like a parent sussing out their kid’s lies, but he apparently deems Wonshik’s story satisfactory and chooses to lean back into the ripped up cushions of the booth instead.

“So how’s things looking with the team?” he asks, and the cola in Wonshik’s mouth goes a tad bitter. 

“It’s alright,” he shrugs nonchalantly. “I think I have a decent shot at first string now.”

“Oh! That’s good,” Hakyeon says, smiling excitedly at him, and Wonshik hopes his own weak grin doesn’t look like the grimace it’s disguising. It’s been three years, five different professional quidditch teams, and he’s still waiting on his chance.

“How are things in the office?” he asks, carefully steering the conversation away from sensitive subjects again. Thankfully, Hakyeon goes along with it, even if his eyes flicker over Wonshik’s face knowingly before launching into a long-suffering story about the elusive banshee that’s managed to slip through the Auror office’s grasp yet again.

Hakyeon’s lunch break ends at two, so they part ways once they leave the fast food restaurant. Hakyeon walks off to find a secluded area to apparate back to the Ministry while Wonshik stands at the corner of the muggle intersection with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, wondering what to do now that he’s awake and outside. His initial plan was to nap until the evening, wake up for dinner, and to go for a late night jog, but Hakyeon had spoiled that when he dragged him out for food.

Speaking of food, he remembers that his grocery supply is getting dangerously low. Wonshik sighs and does some quick mental math, hoping he can afford to go shopping before payday. Looks like he’s got his plans for the afternoon.

+

He narrows his eyes.

The round, black orbs stare back at him, unblinking.

Wonshik scowls and crosses his arms, a perfect picture of intimidation with his muscular shoulders and glower, but his opponent stares back unflinchingly. Wonshik scoffs.

“This is ridiculous,” he says. He doesn’t get a reply. “I will not be subjected to this kind of extortion,” Wonshik adds, tapping his foot. The shopping basket dangling from the crook of his elbow bounces against his leg with each tap, but for all his posturing, the situation doesn’t change. The frozen bass continues to stare up at him from the freezer with its dead fish eyes, and the red and white price tag slapped over the plastic covering continues to mock Wonshik with its priciness. He was only a simple man trying to buy a meal. What did he do to deserve this kind of treatment?

“This is highway robbery,” Wonshik grumbles as he finally caves and reaches into the freezer to pick up the bass, giving the packaged salmon in the next compartment a stink eye for good measure. Now he had to choose between cup noodles or instant coffee after forking out for fish. Life is so unfair.

“Wonshik?” a familiar voice says, and Wonshik automatically looks up at the sound of his name, only to find Lee Hongbin standing on the other side of the open-top freezer, holding a pack of frozen shrimp in hand.

“It is you!” Hongbin says brightly, expression lighting up, and Wonshik drops his fish on his foot in a moment of surprise and thoughtlessness, and has to scramble to pick it up.

“Hongbin! Hi! Hi, uh, you, what are you doing here?” he splutters, straightening up. Why is he  _always_  dropping things when he’s around Hongbin?

“Just shopping,” Hongbin says, gesturing to the groceries in his shopping cart. Wonshik can count a fair number of vegetables, fresh fruit, more seafood, and a small bag of rice, and tries not to feel a bit jealous.

“Wow, same,” he manages to reply, nervously placing his fish into his basket, and immediately wants to hit himself on the head. Way to point out the obvious.

“I figured,” Hongbin laughs, putting the shrimp into his own cart. “What are you making?”

“Er,” Wonshik blinks, staring down at his fish. “I dunno, I was just planning on frying this guy up or something like that, nothing fancy.” 

“Ah,” Hongbin nods, eyes crinkling as he smiles. “Hey, I know a good seafood pasta recipe that you might like, do you want it?”

“E-eh?” Wonshik stammers, watching Hongbin wheel his shopping cart around the freezer to where he’s standing rooted next to the fish, like Devil’s Snare has got his ankles anchored to the ground. “That’d be cool, but, uh, I don’t have any pasta.”

“Oh,” Hongbin says, but he doesn’t seem deterred. “Actually, I have some. Or rather, Taewkoon and Sanghyuk do.”

“Taekwoon and Sanghyuk?” Wonshik repeats, feeling horribly off-kilter with this whole conversation, and being utterly starstruck with Hongbin’s handsome face isn’t helping him understand anything whatsoever.

“I’m housesitting for them,” Hongbin explains. “Or, apartment-sitting, whatever you prefer. I’m just hanging around and eating the food in their fridge before it expires and enjoying their air conditioning. Though I’m fairly certain Sanghyuk forcibly finished all of his coco puff cereal before they left, Taekwoon told me he gets quite territorial about his sugary breakfast grains.”

That makes Wonshik laugh, and the knot in his stomach eases up. “That is such a Sanghyuk thing to do.”

Hongbin chuckles as well, and then he tilts his head at Wonshik. “Seriously though, take some pasta. Those two won’t notice.”

“Why don’t we make it together then?” Wonshik says without thinking, and the second the words leaves his mouth he sorely wishes it didn’t sound cheesy enough to make him turn firetruck red. “I-I mean, well, if you’re busy or whatever I’ll just, I’ll just take the pasta, and go, I just—” he sucks in a breath, feeling the heat rise in his face. But Hongbin doesn’t seem weirded out; rather, the other man looks quite pleased.

“Actually, that sounds like a good idea. It’s been a bit boring living by myself in an unfamiliar neighbourhood anyway,” Hongbin muses aloud, and then he shoots Wonshik a hesitant look. “Or, well, I can understand if you don’t want to, since we’ve only talked once at the wedding.”

“It’s okay,” Wonshik says in a rush, though he has to advert his eyes to the collar of Hongbin’s black shirt. He couldn’t help it; looking directly into Hongbin’s face was like trying to look into a bright light. Somewhere in the corner of his eye Wonshik saw an employee walk into a shelf whilst staring wide-eyed at Hongbin’s profile.  _Veela_ , a voice in his mind reminded him, and Wonshik shushes that little thought quickly. “It’s fine, I suggested this.”

Hongbin’s responding smile is dazzling.

+

He’s been to Taekwoon and Sanghyuk’s apartment before, but not very often. The last time Wonshik spent the night was because he drank too much at the muggle pub at the two’s bachelor party and woke up crammed beside to Hakyeon and Jaehwan on the pullout sofa the morning after. He’s starting to see a pattern with this whole drinking thing.

There are, however, a few things littering the apartment that Wonshik knows isn’t Taekwoon’s or Sanghyuk’s— like the camera on the coffee table, for example.

“That’s a muggle camera, isn’t it?” Wonshik asks as they stand side by side in the kitchen, prepping the ingredients for dinner. Wonshik’s diligently de-shelling the shrimp at the sink while Hongbin carefully slices the bass into bite-sized pieces.

“Yeah, that’s mine,” Hongbin smiles. “I’ve been experimenting with printouts of digital photos and wizarding photo development solution.”

“Whoa, that’s wild. Is it a hobby, or do you work as a photographer?”

“Part time job,” Hongbin says as he finishes the last cut with flourish. He wipes his hands down on a tea towel before pulling his wand from his pocket, magicking the fish into a bowl of seasoning, where they began to roll around in the mixture. “I’m actually a feature writer for a muggle magazine, but I like taking pictures from time to time. Sometimes I’ll send my photos to either the muggle papers or the wizarding ones and I’ll get paid for them too.”

“That’s pretty cool,” Wonshik grins. The extent of his photography skills involve taking selfies on his phone, which Sanghyuk likes to tease is neither a skill nor photography.

“What about you?” Hongbin asks, leaning against the counter in an effortlessly graceful pose as he watches Wonshik run the shrimp under the tap. “What do you do?”

“I, uh, I’m a professional quidditch player,” Wonshik says, watching the water flood in the bowl.

“Oh, wow, which team?” Hongbin asks, sounding impressed, and Wonshik wants to tell him not to get his hopes up.

“Right now I’m signed with the Mydol Manticores as a second string player. They’re still finalizing the line up for the upcoming season, so hopefully... y’know.”

He waits for the familiar look of lost interest to pass over Hongbin’s face, as most people do when they realize Wonshik’s not famous, but the other wizard just nods, still intrigued. “I’ve been to a few of their games before, when I was younger,” Hongbin muses, drumming his long fingers on the countertop. “They’ve been around for some time but they’ve never made it past quarterfinals, have they?”

“Not since the National Championships of 1987,” Wonshik says, and Hongbin clucks his tongue.

“Pity. They’ve got a strong set of Chasers but their defense is weak. What position do you play?”

“I’m a beater. Have been since school,” Wonshik replies, handing over the shrimp. Hongbin takes the bowl and adds it to the fish still rolling about in the seasoning before turning on the stove with a prod of his wand.

“They should be trying to put you onto the pitch then,” he grins, and Wonshik laughs.

“Well, that’s the dream,” he admits, watching Hongbin place a pot of water over the flames.

“I'll be looking for your name in the papers then,” Hongbin smiles, giving Wonshik an encouraging clap to the shoulder, and the physical contact spurs a familiar feeling of intense heart palpitations that renders him momentarily speechless. He chooses to nod fervently instead, and wordlessly hands over bundle of pasta when Hongbin asks for it.

Dinner is fun, and Hongbin is good company. They curl up on the sofa with their bowls in their hands and put the beer bottle on coasters, watching re-runs of old dramas on Sanghyuk’s Netflix account. They also chat idly about anything that comes to mind, from some of the latest broomstick models that came out that year to muggle bands that they both liked. Wonshik hadn’t realized he missed this kind of dual conversation; he’s the only wizard in his family and sometimes his pureblood friends don’t cotton on to his muggle references smoothly. But Hongbin seems to live quite comfortably in both worlds, and all the butterflies in Wonshik’s stomach manage to vanish momentarily when he realizes that Hongbin likes to indulge in anime from time to time as well (that results in another hour long discussion by itself).

It’s late by the time Wonshik shoves his feet back into his shoes, full of pasta and languid after a few beers.

“Thanks for hanging out,” Hongbin says, wiggling his toes in a pair of flat house slippers.

“No problem,” Wonshik replies, smiling. “It was fun. You’re a good cook.”

Hongbin chuckles, nose scrunching cutely as he runs a hand through his hair. “I just like to experiment,” he says. “I’m glad you liked my food.”

“It’s good food,” Wonshik insists, and it makes Hongbin laugh again. A moment of companionable silence settles over them, and Wonshik starts to wonder if they’ll ever be able to meet like this again after Taekwoon and Sanghyuk returns when he realizes, in a slightly tipsy manner, that he doesn’t want this friendship of sorts to fizzle out yet. He’s not going to lie to himself; half the time Wonshik can’t exactly take his eyes off Hongbin, but after tonight he realizes that he also kind of wants to listen to Hongbin talk about rookie quidditch teams, complain about obnoxious boyband songs, and cook dinner together again. And if Wonshik wants that, he’ll have to (as Jaehwan likes to put it) take the first metaphorical step forwards.

“Say, do you like eating lunch at random muggle restaurants with extremely talkative Ministry officials?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I...might have to extend it to a part five... why can't I learn to wrap things up omg... ヾ(･д･ヾ)
> 
> thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, but here's more Wonshik and crew shenanigans! ( ‘́⌣’̀)
> 
> enjoy~

Flying was, perhaps, one of the few things that could help Wonshik take his mind off things. 

When he staggered onto the quidditch pitch for the first time with his fellow first-years in school, highly skeptical about the skinny school broom lying on the dewy grass, Wonshik also never would’ve guessed that aside from coming to love the feeling of flying so much, he’d actually be  _good_  at it. A sad, hopelessly out of place little muggleborn he’d been in school and on the ground, but not while in the air. In the air, he was unbeatable.

That makes him wonder why it’s taking him so damn long to actually succeed in his career choice, but that’s neither here nor there.

One of the dark, heavy bludgers is rocketing up towards the Chaser on Wonshik’s practice team, and he’s after it immediately, spurring his Nimbus onward, chasing the bludger down. He hefts his bag up with one hand, ducks under his teammate, and pops up right in front of the ball, giving it no time to change is course. He braces his heels against his broom and raises his bat, bringing it around his shoulder in a quick, powerful swing. There’s a resounding  _crack_  as Wonshik sends the bludger shooting off in the other direction, where it forces two Chasers from the other team to scatter. Satisfied with himself, Wonshik pulls above the fast-paced passing game going on between the other players. The sun catches on the corner of his eyes and the brightness momentarily blinds him, but then his focus is back onto the pitch, scanning the field for any signs of the other bludger.

There’s a loud  _ping!_  as his teammate puts the Quaffle past the Keeper, but Wonshik hardly has any time to celebrate before he hears the shrill whistle from one of the Manticores’ coaches. Looking down, he barely suppresses a groan of dismay when he spots the opposing team’s Seeker waving the golden Snitch from about twenty feet off the ground. Sighing, he nudged his broom down for the third time today, bringing himself low enough for his toes to skim through the grass before hopping off. The opposing team was cheering and clapping each other on the back while Wonshik’s teammates yanked their practice jerseys off, glowering in silence. He doesn’t say anything as they converge, listening to the coach tick off some of the things the second-string team has done well and some things that need improvement. There was significantly more things to talk about in the latter.

His gaze drifts over to the first-string practice pitch, watching the starting team run through their drills, zooming about on their brooms. Must be nice knowing they’d have a permanent position in the upcoming season, he thinks tiredly.

“Am I straining your attention, mister Kim?” his coach says dryly, jerking Wonshik back to the present.

“No sir,” Wonshik mumbles, brushing his hair out of his face. His bangs are getting ragged again. The colour charm Taekwoon put on his burnt hair had worn off as the weeks went on, changing the strands from black to a light brown. Maybe he’ll get a haircut and then tell Jaehwan to dye it a different colour for him if he doesn’t make the team (again). It was a thing they’d been doing for quite sometime already.

His coach gives him a wary look and continues to talk, leaving Wonshik to drop his head against the handle of his broom. His muscles ached pleasantly, and he wished he could go back to flying. Shooting through the air on his broom was fun. Getting chewed out in his grimy uniform by his coach, not so much.

They talk for another fifteen minutes before they’re finally dismissed, the winning team in considerably higher spirits as they all make for the change rooms. It’s crucial that they all fly well when other coaches, trainers, and sometimes even a scout is watching. The thought of it weighs heavily down on Wonshik as he does his best to scrub himself clean in the shower. He was heading out for dinner tonight with Hakyeon, Jaehwan, and Hongbin, and Hakyeon would throw a fit if he showed up dirt-stained and sweaty.

There was that to look forwards to, at least, and Wonshik valiantly tries not to think of meeting Hongbin again whilst in the shower. He succeeds, slightly.

He’s walking out into the lobby of the training centre, hair still slightly damp and trying to jam his grass-stained jumper back into his duffle bag when somebody tackled him from behind, nearly knocking him off his feet.

“Surprise!” a familiar voice cheers into his ear, and Wonshik almost groans out loud. Hakyeon, springing a surprise attack on him. Figures.

“Quit doing that,” Wonshik complains, trying to untangle himself from Hakyeon’s octopus-like hug now. “I almost jinxed you reflexively.”

“You wouldn’t,” Hakyeon gasps, faking a hurt look, and Wonshik has to physically stop himself from flicking his friend in the forehead. Fortunately for Hakyeon, Hongbin chooses that moment to appear in the lobby, holding a bottle of bubble juice he’d probably had to wrestle out of the ancient vending machine in the corner of the building.

“Hey,” Hongbin smiles, eyes crinkling behind large, dark-framed glasses, and Wonshik feels his insides melt a little.

“Hi,” he replies, pushing his bangs back. “I didn’t expect to see you guys here.”

“We came to surprise you!” Hakyeon beams. “Well, just Hongbin and I. Jaehwan was still working when I called him with Floo Powder, so we’ll meet him at the restaurant. Anyway, we’re here to escort you home before we go out to dinner!”

“Escort me home?” Wonshik blinks. “Why do I have to go home?”

Hakyeon’s smile fades a little and is quickly replaced by his signature stink face. “Don’t tell me you were seriously planning to go meet us dressed like this,” he says, and Wonshik shrinks a little as Hakyeon gives his casual t-shirt and jeans ensemble a once-over, but he tilts his chin up defiantly. He won’t stand here and have his fashion insulted.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

Hakyeon gives him a long-suffering look. “You’re wearing socks with sandals, Wonshik.”

“My toes get cold at night, okay!”

“Uh-huh. You’re going home to change.”

“What are you, my mom?”

“Worse, I’m a  _friend_   _mom_ , which means I have no familial ties with you and am at liberty to say whatever I want about your stylistic choices without really offending you as my child.”

“I went to school with this man for four years,” Wonshik groans to Hongbin, who’s barely suppressing his laughter behind his palm as he watches the exchange. He vaguely hopes Hongbin would shift his hand ever so slightly and reveal his dimples; Wonshik was beginning to realize that it was one of his favourite things about the man.

“Must’ve been exciting,” Hongbin manages to say between snorts. Hakyeon scoffs loudly and Wonshik rolls his eyes.

“Wonshik fancied himself as a rebel but couldn’t bear to put a toe out of line.”

“That’s because you’re always finding reasons to dock house points!” Wonshik complained. “You were such a mean Head Boy!”

“That’s because you guys kept on breaking rules!”

“You were a tyrant,” Wonshik grumbles, fixing his bag over his shoulder as the three of them stumbled outside into the blazing evening sun, still bickering.

“Don’t be rude to your seniors!” Hakyeon shrieked, slapping Wonshik on the shoulder, making him yelp in pain as his sore muscles protested.

“Fascinating as this trip down memory lane is,” Hongbin interrupts, casually pushing Hakyeon and Wonshik out of each other’s reach before a real fistfight could begin. “How about we get dinner first and then continue to reminisce? Because I don’t know about you, but I’m starved.”

Hakyeon sniffs and immediately latches onto Hongbin’s arm. “The man’s got a point,” he say delicately, and Wonshik pinches the bridge of his nose as he tampers down the bit of jealousy he feels at Hakyeon’s casualness with Hongbin. Hakyeon always got along well with other people. Meanwhile, Wonshik had already made a habit of dropping things just from  _looking_  at Hongbin’s face.

“Right. You wanted me to change?”

Hakyeon wrinkles his nose as he takes in the rest of Wonshik’s attire, but concedes: “I’m willing to let the rest of your fashion sense slide if you put on proper shoes.”

“Where are we going out to eat again?” Wonshik asks, squinting. “I hope it’s not something really fancy, because I just spent the majority of my last paycheque buying really overpriced fish.”

“The place is Obertelli’s Eating House,” Hakyeon beams. “It’s a nice muggle restaurant Taekwoon mentioned some time ago but never got around to visiting, so I’m paying them a visit in his stead!”

“Are they a ‘no shoes no service’ kinda establishment?”

“I dunno about shoes, but International Statute of Secrecy still stands.”

“Right,” Wonshik grumbles, shaking his sleeves down. “I guess... we’re apparating?”

“We’ll meet you at the restaurant,” Hongbin says, a twinkle in his eye as he gives Wonshik a little wave before he and Hakyeon vanish into thin air with a sharp  _crack._  That left him standing alone in front of the training centre, which would appear as nothing more but an empty parking lot to the unsuspecting muggles driving by on the road off in the distance.

“What’s wrong with socks and sandals?” Wonshik muttered to himself, wiggling his toes for good measure before turning on his heel and disappearing into the usual suffocating tightness.

He wondered if Hongbin had a problem with his fashion choices, and then decides not to dwell too much on it.

+

If dinner with Hakyeon is an interesting affair, then dinner with Hakyeon  _and_  Jaehwan was always guaranteed to be loud, boisterous, and just a tad bit wild. Those two could really be shameless at times, but they had a type of self-assuredness in public that Wonshik still hasn’t gotten the hang of yet. He left most of the jokes to the pair, pokes at the grilled meat on his plate and tries very hard not to stare at Hongbin too much, because Jaehwan and Hakyeon would really never let him live this crush down. They’d be eighty with arthritis and complaining about youngsters zooming around too quickly on broomsticks and they’d  _still_  tease him.

But it had been a nice dinner overall. The food was pretty good, the atmosphere comfortable and warm, and he and Hongbin ended up splitting and sharing two orders of an intensely sweet caramel cheesecake and a bowl of green tea ice cream. Hakyeon had refused to let Jaehwan try his banana cream sundae no matter how much the other man whined, which eventually led to Jaehwan wheedling Hakyeon to go bar hopping with him once they stumbled out of the restaurant after paying their bill.

“You guys wanna come with?” Hakyeon asks, tucking his hands into the pockets of his overcoat. “The more the merrier, right?”

Wonshik glances at Hongbin, curious to what the other man would say, but Hongbin shakes his head. “I’ve got work tomorrow morning,” he says apologetically. “Maybe another time?”

“Aw, you’re no fun!” Jaehwan pouts, headbutting Hongbin in the shoulder. Hongbin grunts at the impact and nearly walks backwards into Wonshik, who catches him and pushes him upright with a laugh.

“Jeez, Jaehwan, what are you, five?”

“I’m only three!” Jaehwan squeaks in a horrific imitation of a small child’s voice, and starts to skip in circles around Hakyeon.

“Figures,” Hongbin snorts as Hakyeon grabs the back of Jaehwan’s hood, forcing him to a halt.

“What about you, Wonshik? Are you gonna hang out?”

“I actually would if I had money tonight,” Wonshik grumbles, and that’s half the truth. Payday was still at the end of the week whether or not he wanted to go drinking.

“Shame,” Hakyeon sighs, confusing Wonshik with his waggling eyebrows before adding, “You two get home safe together!”

“I could say the same about you two,” Hongbin snickers as Wonshik tries not to choke on his own spit. “See you guys.”

“Yeah, have a good night,” Wonshik says, giving Hakyeon the stink eye before they headed off their separate ways, Hakyeon and Jaehwan probably looking for a quiet place to apparate to a pub and leaving Wonshik and Hongbin hovering on the pavement next to the restaurant.

“Why don’t we walk?” Hongbin asks, looking up at the night sky. “It’s a nice night out.”

“Sure,” Wonshik says, smiling. It wasn’t too chilly, even without the sun and a jacket over his shoulders, but mostly Wonshik was just a little glad he could spend more time with Hongbin without worrying about Hakyeon and Jaehwan brining up embarrassing school stories. They fell into step with each other as they began to walk, languid after a good meal.

“So,” Hongbin hums, hands tucked into his pockets as they strolled down the street, illuminated by the glowing signs of muggle stores. “Got any plans for the night?”

“Not really,” Wonshik shrugs, raising his arms to stretch out the cramping muscles on his back. “I think I might fall into a food coma though, after all that food and practice today.”

“Dinner was great,” Hongbin agrees happily, letting out a sigh of satisfaction. “You were right about Hakyeon knowing some good restaurants, even if he does have a rather weird fascination about fast food places.”

“That’s because he hangs out around Taekwoon too much,” Wonshik snorts. “He’s a real foodie.”

Hongbin chortles loudly, catching the attention of several people across the street, and Wonshik watches as they all slow in their walk as they stared in awe at Hongbin. Feeling his stomach flop, he picks up his pace and fumbles for something to say.

“H-hey, wanna head down to the harbour from here? It’s only a five minute walk.”

“Sure,” Hongbin grins. “Lead the way.”

Relief and nerves tug at his insides at the answer, and Wonshik gives Hongbin a wobbly smile before making a right at the end of the street, following the familiar path down to the docks.

Choosing the harbour had apparently been a good idea, because Hongbin apparently hadn’t visited the area before after dark, and thus had never seen the lights by the water.

“ _Wow_ ,” Hongbin breathes, eyes wide as they wound up on a tourist pier lined with fancy park benches and several pay-to-view binoculars at the end of the dock. “What a view.”

“It’s one of my favourite places in the whole city,” Wonshik admits, staring out into the mesh of gold, reds, and oranges glowing from the city nightlife across the water. “I live about four blocks away, so sometimes if I can’t sleep, I’d just come out to stare at the lights and wind down a little.”

“I can see how that’d be calming,” Hongbin says softly, eyes roaming over the scenery, and Wonshik’s heart melts at the warm look on Hongbin’s face. If he wasn’t mistaken, he might think that Hongbin was a bit of an artistic romantic too.

There was only one way to find out.

“Sometimes, if I stay long enough,” Wonshik adds, “I’ll see the sunrise coming up from beyond the water over there.”

Hongbin’s eyes widens even more as he stares out at the direction Wonshik was pointing in. Even though the sky was dark, they could still make out the stretch of water that remained uninterrupted by any kind of building or island— perfect for sunrise watching. “I’d like to get a picture of that,” Hongbin muses, shooting Wonshik a mischievous look. “Is that too cheesy of a thing to say?”

“I’m the guy who stays up to watch the sunrise, you tell me,” Wonshik points out, and Hongbin laughs, crinkling his hands in amusement.

“Fair enough. You know what, I’m gonna check the weather for the upcoming week, see when’s a good time to drop by and get a few photos—”

“It’s overcast tomorrow,” Wonshik says automatically, “But the two days after that is clear skies until the evening.” When Hongbin looks over at him, surprised, he flusters a little, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’m always up to date for the weather because of quidditch. It’s a real hassle to show up on a rainy day and then realize you didn’t bring your goggles with you.”

“I’ll bet,” Hongbin grins. “Hey, wanna come watch the sunrise with me the day after tomorrow then, if you’re not busy?”

Wonshik’s heart skips a beat and he does the fastest mental scan of his practice schedule in his life, cheering internally when he remembers he’s got then next three days off for conditioning.

“I’m free,” he smiles, his heart stuttering when he sees how pleased Hongbin looks. “It’s a date then.”

The words slip out before he could stop them and Wonshik freezes, momentary panic setting in as he feels his face heat up and his stomach clench in shock. Oh, him and his stupid big mouth.

“Well, it’s a date then,” Hongbin suddenly agrees, a light twinkle in his eye as he nudges Wonshik in the side with a surprisingly bony elbow. “You better not sleep in, mister-I-stay-up-for-sunrises.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know I’ve never missed a morning practice in my life,” Wonshik complains, trying not to physically collapse as relief washes over him. Thank god for Hongbin and his easy-going nature, glossing over that ridiculous mishap like it was a friendly expression, and completely missing the fact that Wonshik did, in fact, want to date him. The realization of  _that_  thought almost makes him double over again, his heart fluttering helplessly. Jaehwan and Sanghyuk was right, Wonshik grumbled internally. He really had left the dating scene behind for too long and now he’s a fumbling mess.

“Yet from what I heard you could never get up for any of your morning classes in time,” Hongbin snickers, and Wonshiks flushes.

“I could so— that was  _one time_  in my second year— okay, maybe ten times, but who told you that, oh my god, it was Hakyeon, wasn’t it?” Wonshik splutters, and Hongbin’s clutching his sides as he wheezes at Wonshik’s defensiveness. “I knew getting the two of you to hang out was a terrible idea,” he moans. “Hakyeon’s such a mom; he’s gonna spill everything embarrassing about me from when I was a scrawny brat.”

“Ah, we all have our bogarts in the closet,” Hongbin says wisely, patting Wonshik on the shoulder. “If it’s any consolation, Hakyeon did mention something about an incident on the third floor bathroom, but he told me for the sake of my sanity and your personal image he could not divulge any further information.” 

His feelings of absolute horror must’ve shown on his face, because a second later Hongbin is collapsing in another fit of laughter as Wonshik thunders into the tranquil night, “CHA HAKYEON!”

Somewhere in the city, a certain Auror lets out an almighty sneeze.

+

He jolts awake at half past seven the next morning, too used to waking early for a run or morning practice to sleep in past eight nowadays. Groaning slightly, Wonshik hauls himself into a sitting position, feeling a moment of light-headedness wash over him. His apartment was silent save for the hum of appliances and the distant sound of morning traffic outside, which was nothing unusual. Even the owl post sitting on his balcony seemed normal (monthly subscription to  _Which Broomstick_ , a few pop-up ads that might spray all-stick glitter onto him, another beautiful postcard from Sanghyuk) and then he sees an envelope with the Mydol Manticore’s logo stamped on the side. Throat suddenly very tight, Wonshik dropped the rest of his post onto the breakfast table and nearly tripped over a pair of shoes in his haste to grab his wand.

He magicks the envelope open, not wanting to accidentally tear anything in his haste, and flicks the letter out. It hovers at eye-level as he scans the slanted writing on the parchment (written with rather distasteful green ink) and two phrases jump out to him:  _upcoming season_ and  _invitation to first-string tryouts_.

Wonshik’s heart leaps into his throat. Invitation to first-string tryouts.

Catching the floating letter with trembling hands, Wonshik takes a breath and wills himself to stay calm. Tryouts again. Another chance. He could practically feel the pressure bearing down on him already, and he’s still got a week to go until the tryout date scrawled onto the parchment. This was it. This was what he’d been going for, after years of dragging himself through exhausting practices and flying through horrendous weather and worse.

Suddenly too restless to make breakfast for himself, Wonshik folds the letter up, darts into the bathroom to wash his face, and scrambles out of his apartment, taking the steps two at a time as he heads downstairs. Between the letter and his upcoming ‘date’ with Hongbin, it’s a wonder he hasn’t collapsed in shock, Wonshik thinks wryly as he steps out of his building. There’s a diner down the street he frequents on lazy mornings, and at this hour on a regular working day, he doubts it’ll be packed— perfect for sorting out his thoughts.

True to his prediction, the diner is mostly empty save for an older couple enjoying pancakes, a few others reading the paper at the counter and a hunched man sitting in the corner furthest away from the windows. Wonshik distractedly greets the waitress as he looks around for comfortable seat, but when the man in the corner looks up and makes eye contact with him, Wonshik does a double take.

“ _Jaehwan_?” he asks, and Jaehwan winces as Wonshik instantly strolls over and drops noisily into the seat across from him. “What are you doing here?”

“Enjoying the morning brew, what about you,” Jaehwan mutters, his voice scratchy and face uncharacteristically drained. His hair is wildly messy, his bloodshot eyes are surrounded with dark circles, and his clothes look awfully rumpled. Wonshik stares at him.

“Did you get into a fight with a herd of cornish pixies this morning or something? What happened to you?”

“Could you maybe not talk so loudly,” Jaehwan flinches, rubbing at his temples, and Wonshik stares.

“Are you  _hungover_?”

“You know, I’m really starting to see why the Sorting Hat didn’t put you in Ravenclaw,” Jaehwan squints, and Wonshik glowers.

“How much did you drink yesterday night? You really don’t look good.”

“Hence, this,” Jaehwan says, waving to the lonely mug of hot black coffee on the table. It must’ve been bad, then. Jaehwan never takes his coffee black unless he’s sick or in a near-death state after drinking.

“Why didn’t Hakyeon cut you off?” Wonshik asks in confusion, because why didn’t Hakyeon? Their oldest friend was terrible at holding his alcohol and thus was usually rather cautious about how much he drank in public (drinking at home was a different matter).

Jaehwan grimaces and shook his head. “Hakyeon— he, he left early.”

“And left you behind?” Wonshik says skeptically.

“He wasn’t feeling well, okay,” Jaehwan mumbles. “Plus I was the one who wanted to go out, so I convinced him to let me stay.”

“Hakyeon’s got way more sense than that. We’ve all seen you smashed over fairy wine before and collectively agreed that you’re not allowed to drink alone, ever.”

“Yet here we are,” Jaehwan says irately, and whatever Wonshik wants to say is interrupted by the waitress coming over to ask for his order. He doesn’t miss the eyes she’s making at Jaehwan despite his friend’s less-than-functioning appearance, and hastily orders coffee with milk and sugar and a plate of eggs before rounding on Jaehwan again.

“You didn’t brew up a hangover potion this morning?” There was no way Jaehwan couldn’t handle a simple headache or nausea-clearing concoction, not when he was one of the leading potion researchers in the Ministry and dealing with new formulas so secret that needed official clearance to access.

“I wasn’t home,” Jaehwan says under his breath. “And I thought it best not to try anything remotely strenuous when I’m ready for death right now anyway, so muggle coffee it is.”

“You weren’t home?” Wonshik asks, wrinkling his nose in confusion, and Jaehwan gives him a look that’s one part exasperation and two parts incredulity before shaking his head.

“Never mind,” he grouses. “So what did you do yesterday night after we left you with Hongbin?” That was accompanied by a suggestive wink, and any previous sympathy Wonshik felt for his friend vanishes in an instant. If Jaehwan could wink, he was basically fucking fine.

“We went for a walk by the harbour and had a chat,” he says, crossing his arms, and Jaehwan snorts.

“Romantic,” he teases. “Are we going to see a wedding by the port? With fairy lights and flutterbies dancing around you two?”

“Hilarious,” Wonshik deadpans. “Your wit never fails to amaze me.”

“ _Wit beyond measure is a man’s greatest treasure_ ,” Jaehwan recites wisely, swirling his drink around.

“I don’t see your old house motto preventing you from drinking yourself stupid last night,” Wonshik retorts, and Jaehwan sighs.

“Listen, Wonshikkie, I may have puked twice this morning, and only one instance involved actually making it to the toilet, but you’re so lovestruck over Hongbin it actually  _hurts_  to see you skirting around him like that. At this point I’m pretty sure it’s not even the initial sway Veelas have over the general population, you’re just in love. Ah, to be young again,” Jaehwan coos, and Wonshik is half a step away from giving his friend the worst noogie ever when sudden thought occurs to him.

“Wait,” Wonshik frowns.

“What?”

“How come neither you or Hakyeon became... infatuated with Hongbin?” Wonshik says, tilting his head.

Jaehwan arches an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” he asks.

“It’s just that, people are always involuntarily attracted to him, you know? It’s the Veela charm, like you said, but people, in passing, just can’t take their eyes off him. I mean, things get better once you get to know Hongbin more, but you and Hakyeon? Neither of your really... did that. Neither of you were starstruck by him when you first met.”

Jaehwan blinks slowly, as though trying to process the words, and then he shrugs. “I dunno. I mean, yeah, Hongbin’s hot as hell, but I’ve never given it an excessive amount of thought after our first meeting, you know? Not the way you do,” he adds, smirking over the rim of his cup, and Wonshik makes a face.

“You know, I’ve heard that only people who have experience real, true love can resist a Veela’s charms,” he jabs, half-joking. “That’d explain Sanghyuk’s disinterest because he’s got Taekwoon, but  _you—_  are you hooking up with a true love right now, Jaewhan?”

He makes a goo-goo face at his friend for good measure, teasing, but Wonshik doesn’t really expect Jaehwan’s eyes to go comedically wide, nor the sudden spew of coffee his friend spits into his face in shock. Yelling, Wonshik jerks back as Jaehwan coughs violently, clutching at his chest. Other diners turn and stare at them, a few wrinkling their nose in disgust. Wonshik ignores them.

“What was that for!” he hisses, grabbing a napkin to wipe his face.

“Morgana’s patterned bloomers, Wonshik, you don’t just  _say_  stuff like that,” Jaehwan huffs, holding his head in his hands with a groan. “It’s too early for this.”

“I’m not the one that’s hung over and still in yesterday’s night’s clothes sitting in some diner alone at eight in the morning,” Wonshik retorts, and then he freezes as realization crashes on him. “Wait a second.”

Jaehwan looks up, bloodshot eyes wide, and groans. “Don’t say it.”

“Just now,” Wonshik says, pointing accusingly at his friend. “I joked about you hooking up, and then you gave me  _that_  reaction.”

“Shut  _up_ , Wonshik,” Jaehwan says through gritted teeth, scowling at his friend, but oh, he finally gets it. The sorty had was definitely right about him being anti-Ravenclaw material.

“You son of a bitch, you  _did_  get laid yesterday night!” Wonshik cries triumphantly, grabbing Jaehwan’s arms in excitement, and gets a strong kick to his shins for his troubles. The old couple is giving them incredibly scandalized looks and the waitress hovering by the counter now has an extremely disappointed look on her face.

“I’m gonna jinx your boxers to give you the worst wedgies of your life,” Jaehwan snaps, pushing Wonshik off him. “And before you ask, no, I’m not telling you who it was.”

“Aw,” Wonshik pouts, trying to hide his grin. “That probably means I know them then, right?”

Jaehwan glares. “No, you don’t.”

“Shit, I for sure know them then.”

“No, Wonshik, you—”

“Oh my god! Remember back when I took Divination classes in school and read your fortunes for practice? And I predicted you’d find love in an old friend? Is this it? Is that coming true?”

“I sorely regret the day I ever let you use me as a fortune-telling guinea pig,” Jaehwan scowls, downing the rest of his coffee in one gulp. It’s truly a measure of how annoyed he is if he’s actually finishing his drink, and Wonshik relents a little because Jaehwan’s eyebags are starting to look pretty spectacular.

“Seriously though, this is great news,” he grins, clapping Jaehwan on the shoulder. “I’m glad for you.”

“You’re just happy I’m not harping on you about Hongbin right now,” Jaehwan mutters, running a hand through his curly hair. “Once the hangover passes I’ll be sure to get back at you.”

“Looking forwards to it,” Wonshik rolls his eyes. “Am I ever gonna meet this secret person?”

Jaehwan blinks, and then he shrugs, expression closing off in a very un-Jaehwan like manner. “Dunno,” he mumbles. “We’ll see, I guess.”

Wonshik furrows his eyebrows, a frown tugging at his mouth. Something was off. “Hey, you okay?” he says, reaching out to touch Jaehwan’s face, checking for his temperature. There isn’t a fever, but Jaehwan just deflates and leans limply against Wonshik’s hand, eyes drooping closed.

“Ask me that question again when I’m not wearing a vomit-stained shirt at eight in the morning, alright?” Jaehwan sighs, looking a lot older than he is, and Wonshik nods slowly, moving his hand to card his friend’s hair back. They sit in silence for a moment, letting the sounds of the quiet diner wash over them.

“Hey, so I finally got the invite to first-string tryouts,” Wonshik hums, gently steering their conversation to another subject, and Jaehwan actually perks up at that. “Maybe I’ll finally make it and my hair won’t be subjected to another one of your atrocious hair-dye potions anymore.”

Jaehwan manages to crack a grin at that. “Let’s hope so,” he agrees, and the particular topic from before is effectively dropped after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought about this story for a while, and though I was attempting to keep it short and wrap it up in four to five chapters, more ideas kept on popping up so I decided to extend it into a larger work, lol (ง ˙o˙)ว so while it'll probably take poor Wonshik much longer to get with Hongbin, at least there's more character development to look forwards to... right? ƪƪ’▿’)
> 
>  
> 
> ~~Chances are now I’ll have enough world building done by the end of this story to make spinoffs as well, lmao.~~
> 
>  
> 
> thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> //sweats
> 
> now I gotta finish this story, lol
> 
> thank you for reading!


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